Mwair-Morin Episode
The Mwair Episode narrated the story
of a young man who came to visit Nanda
Devi in Lata once upon a time. A male
artist dressed in rags and wearing a brown
wooden mask enacted bitter and sour
experiences of the young man who traveled
from a far off place.The performance had another purpose,
entertainment of audience in between
serious religious narrations. The illiterate
man entertained the audience with mimes,
lewd and funny gestures, and a “dance.” He
mimicked modes of transport used like bus,
on foot, and climbing.He played a nasty trick on many spectators,
he rubbed phaphara flour from the swag
around his waist on their heads and / or
threw it in the eyes. It was worse for the
man audience. He hugged, kissed, and
tingled them. Many laughed at the foolery.
He performed a self-arti. He lit incenses
and moved these in front of his face in
circular fashion the way traditional arti is
performed.
Morin joined him two days hence. They
danced and had fun. The audience idolized
and loved the ancestral couple. On April 12, 2019. Mwair.252
Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019